Optical fiber is increasingly being used for a variety of applications, including but not limited to broadband voice, video, and data transmission. As consumer devices increasingly use more bandwidth, it is anticipated that connectors for these devices will move away from electrical connections and toward using optical connections or a combination of electrical and optical connections to meet the bandwidth needs.
Generally speaking, conventional optical connectors used for telecommunication networks and the like are not suitable for consumer electronic devices. For instance, conventional optical connectors are relatively large when compared with consumer devices and their interfaces. Additionally, conventional optical connectors need to be deployed with great care and into relatively clean environments, and generally need to be cleaned by the craft prior to connection. Such optical connectors are high-precision connectors designed for reducing insertion loss between mating connectors in the optical network. Further, though optical connectors used in telecommunications are reconfigurable (i.e., suitable for mating/unmating), they are not intended for the relatively large number of mating cycles normally associated with consumer electronic devices.
Besides operating with a relatively large number of mating/unmating cycles, consumer electronic devices are often used in environments where contaminants are ubiquitous. Consequently, an optical connector used for commercial electronic devices must be designed so that any contaminants (e.g., dust, dirt, debris, fluid, etc.) that find their way into the optical connector do not substantially reduce optical connector performance.
Further, the optical connector should be designed so that reflected light does not return to the light source, and so that multiple reflections do not cause interference effects that could impair the performance of the system. The impairing effects of optical reflections can be reduced by applying an anti-reflective coating to the surfaces in the optical path. However, such anti-reflective coatings increase the complexity and cost of the optical connector.
Another known method of reducing optical reflections is to provide an index-matching fluid between optical surfaces. However, the use of index-matching fluids is not practical in applications where a connector needs to be routinely disconnected and connected where the optical surfaces are interfaced. Therefore, it is desirable to have an optical connector that inherently suppresses adverse effects of optical reflections without using anti-reflective coatings or index-matching fluids.
Moreover, certain consumer electronic devices have size and space constraints for making connections and may not be amenable to a straight optical connection, so that an optical connector with a bend is also desirable.